Technical series on Primary Health Care. Working paper: Building the primary health care workforce of the 21st century

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Author: World Health Organization.

Publication date: 2018

Summary: This paper asks “What are the health workforce implications of and requirements for the implementation of the primary health care agenda in the 21st century?” It builds on evidence that informed the development of the global strategy on human resources and the Commission’s report. It describes the current state of the primary health care workforce based on four dimensions of workforce performance: availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality; presents a brief review of the driving forces of change and their effect on primary health care services and the workforce; and concludes with policy options to optimize the performance of the primary health care workforce and the actions required for their successful implementation. The above question is implicitly linked to the vision of primary health care for the 21st century namely:

Primary health care is a whole-of-society approach to maximize the level and distribution of health and well-being by acting simultaneously on three components: 1) primary care and essential public health functions as the core of integrated health services, 2) multisectoral policy and action, and 3) empowering people and communities. Primary health care has been shown to be the most equitable, effective, and costeffective way to enhance the health of populations (World Health Organization. A vision for primary health care in the 21st century. 2018)